Join the Acquired Limited Partner program! https://kimberlite.fm/acquired/ (works best on mobile)   Acquired is back and live on the scene! After months of speculation, Google announces today their acquisition (err, "Cooperation Agreement”) of a large portion of HTC’s hardware division. What does this mean for the future of mobile? Can Google transform itself into a vertically integrated device company and compete directly with Apple? Most importantly, when will we see more Beats Android handsets??? (We hope never)   Topics Covered Include: The origins of HTC as a Taiwanese OEM, dating back to the Compaq iPAQ and Palm Treo 650! HTC’s long history with Google, starting as the manufacturer of the first Android phone, the HTC Dream / T-Mobile G1 HTC’s ownership of Beats, for a hot minute Google’s own winding history in hardware, with its Motorola acquisition in 2011 and divestiture in 2014 Google & HTC’s joint work on the Pixel smartphones in 2016 And much analysis and speculation on what this means for Google, Apple, Samsung, vertical vs horizontal business models and more!   The Carve Out: Ben: Odesza’s new album A Moment Apart David: Bruce Springsteen on Fresh Air   Sponsor: Thanks to Perkins Coie, Counsel to Great Companies, for sponsoring this podcast. You can get in touch with Jeff Beuche, who you heard at the beginning of this podcast, here.